Page 176: Philip Yancey: Suffering, Grace, and Discovering the Truth About God

  Philip Yancey is a best-selling author, the writer of Christian classics like The Jesus I Never Knew, and What's So Amazing About Grace. After more than 40 years and 17 million books in print, Philip says much of his writing is about suffering and grace- two things he has experienced in great measure.  Growing up in a strict, fundamentalist church, Philip learned to think of God as a giant who was waiting for a chance to crush him. His widowed mother presented much the same picture of God and reinforced it with her own anger and disappointment.  As Philip grew, he was confused by the contradictions at church. They spoke about love and grace but rarely gave either. He began to see the lies he'd been taught at church and at home, and he walked away from faith.